Mead temp question

My first foray Into home brewing was a cherry..I always wanted to try mead so I figured I'd get that going while waiting on the wine to clear...I'm gonna try "joes ancient orange" recipe on this site, it sounds sweet and idiot proof (good for me), but I have a question..how important is it that the temperature stays between 70 & 80 degrees? I live in New Jersey, so it's still 40-60degrees and we rarely get steady temps of 70-80 for more than a month or two before it gets into the 90s....my basement where I have the wine is a consistent 57 years round...would it be ok down there? Will this effect the fermentation time? Any ideas/suggestions are GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!

Yeah, it should be fine down there. The bread yeast you use for joes ancient orange is pretty tolerant of all temps that other yeast fall into. A good amount of wine specific Yeasts thrive in the upper fifties range, so you'll be fine.

I've done JAOM at 70 degrees before and it was great. I've got one brewing now (2.5 gallon batch) at 58-60 in my basement and it's definitely fermenting just fine. It might take a little longer but I'm okay with that. One really helpful thing is that CO2 leaves solution a little easier at lower temperatures, so it may actually help it clear a little sooner and make up for the slower fermentation, but I will have to wait and see.

devianttouch said:

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One really helpful thing is that CO2 leaves solution a little easier at lower temperatures, so it may actually help it clear a little sooner and make up for the slower fermentation, but I will have to wait and see.

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Hum? I think you'll find that you need to check both your chem and physics knowledge about that.......

Plus any source of knowledge from the beverage production industry....as they (as well as me) find that if you want to retain maximum CO2, whatever the product is, needs to be chilled - think beers, soda/pop type drinks. The example being that both go "flat" much quicker when warmed or at room temp than they do when chilled and why the cans and bottles usually carry the "serve chilled" caveat.

Either way, JAO is convenient not just because the ease of obtaining the ingredients but also because bread yeast is quite tolerant of a range of temperatures. When a baker "proves" the dough its to help increase the rate that the yeast produces CO2 but not so quickly that it develops large bubbles in the dough/baked loaf.

At the temp the OP suggests, it should be fine.......

Awesome, thanks to all!

fatbloke said:

Plus any source of knowledge from the beverage production industry....as they (as well as me) find that if you want to retain maximum CO2, whatever the product is, needs to be chilled - think beers, soda/pop type drinks. The example being that both go "flat" much quicker when warmed or at room temp than they do when chilled and why the cans and bottles usually carry the "serve chilled" caveat.

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FatBloke is absolutely right about the temps. Cool temps are the way to keep a carbonated beverage from going flat. Science Friday just did a segment on this a couple months ago with a "Bubble Scientist". http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/12/31/2010/don-t-cork-that-champagne.html

Learn something new every day - Thanks guys!